Defense & National Security

Four years into the Iraq war, most Americans say they have little or no confidence in the information they receive -- from either the military or the media -- about how things are going on the ground.

Summary of Findings A solid majority of Americans say they want their congressional representative to support a bill calling for a withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq by August 2008. Nearly six-in-ten (59%) say they would like to see their representative vote for such legislation, compared with just 33% who want their representative to oppose […]

While public opinion about the war in Iraq has followed a path not unlike that charted during the Vietnam War, one important disparity stands out: attitudes toward the military.

On the fourth anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the public has turned against the decision to use military force. But views of how the military effort is going, while now decidedly negative, have been more volatile, and Americans have been slow to conclude that U.S. troops should be withdrawn.

Remarks of Andrew Kohut to the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs; Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight

Opinion surveys find much in the way of public frustration, but little in the way of direction on the international and military front.

Summary of Findings Public support for the war in Iraq continues to decline, as a growing number of political independents are turning against the war. Overall, a 53% majority of Americans believe the U.S. should bring its troops home as soon as possible – up five points in the past month and the highest percentage […]

Summary of Findings President Bush’s plan to send roughly 21,000 additional troops to Iraq has drawn broad opposition from the American public. If anything, the plan has triggered increased partisan polarization on the debate over what to do in Iraq. While most Republicans support Bush’s initiative, Democrats overwhelmingly oppose it, and a solid majority of […]

Two out of every three Latinos now believe that U.S. troops should be brought home from Iraq as soon as possible and only one in four thinks the U.S. made the right decision in using military force.

Summary of Findings Despite deep public dissatisfaction with the Iraq war, the highly anticipated report by a bipartisan panel proposing new policy options for Iraq did not register strongly with most Americans. Only about half say they heard even a little about the report released last week by the Iraq Study Group led by James […]